Southern style pho?

[Cicely]

There are a lot of recs for northern-style pho on the board, but I haven't seen any for places that specialize in southern style. Or is southern the default? I'm assuming by opposition that southern style has more of the spices that I love: star anise, ginger, coriander. I don't usually add sauces to my broth, but I love a variety of herbs.

[Civil Bear]

My all time favorite in SF is PPQ on Irving near 19th Ave. Cash only.

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PPQ Vietnamese Cuisine
1816 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

[MaryD]

Cicely, see my post here http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/22574.
I found a southern style Pho which I really enjoyed is in Concord, if you want to venture that far
http://www.saigonbistro.com/

[Cicely]

That's very informative, thanks. I didn't realize that pho originally came from the north! I actually first had it in Laos.

[yummyrice]

When you were in Laos, did you have the Lao noodle soup or was it a Vietnamese noodle soup? Pho is a Vietnamese name for their version of the noodle soup, but Feu and Guey Tiew are Lao and Thai/Cambodian noodle soups, respectively. All four countries make their soups differently and they taste differently too.

Feu noodle soups in Laos have a "vegetable" taste and aroma to it, whereas Pho noodle soups that I've had seem to lack those characteristics but have more of a "cinnamony" aroma to it. Some versions of Guey Tiew noodle soups in Thailand can also be quite tangy.